Neptune Retrograde – Break Through the Looking Glass

“If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn’t. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn’t be. And what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?”

– Lewis Carrol in Alice in Wonderland

Neptune, known at times as the planet of “smoke and mirrors” turns Retrograde today at 8 degrees of Pisces, in a very loose trine with Mercury, Retrograde in Cancer. I’m not sure there could be a more nebulous combination than this, other than perhaps a square or opposition between these two planets. But when Retrograde the planets tend to do things they don’t normally do…

What you see is not necessarily what you get, nor is what you hear what is actually said. Thoughts and words fly, but their usefulness on the earth plane can be next to nil. That’s kind of what we expect with Mercury Retrograde, or Neptune in general. Neptune can often be a dreamy, idealistic influence, or one that enables illusions, delusions and addictions to run wild. In Pisces both its wonderful and confounding qualities are heightened to nth degree. Compassionate awareness meets with ignorance and the complete shirking of responsibility in the outer world. When Neptune turns Retrograde however, there is no room to hide from our shadow side even in the largest sea. Interestingly, when we face the darkness rather than hiding from it, it begins to grow in light.

The Retrograde stationing of this planet is like a the breaking of a long spell. Perhaps the Prince comes to kiss Snow White, or to rescue Rapunzel from her isolated tower. The Looking Glass does something unheard of…it finally shatters.

Until November 15th, we are being given a precious opportunity to reach beyond the scope of our limited vision and confines, to embrace a much wider world view and all its marvelous and infinite possibilities. There is a great and powerful awakening that occurs for those who are paying attention to their hunches, emotions, and dreams. Now we can organize our plans and thoughts more carefully, weeding out the nonsense from the truth. Neptune helps us to get our heads out of the clouds and get real, to achieve our goals rather than just sit around with a prayer, a hope and a nickel for them to happen. Neptune Retrograde helps us to identify the difference between fantasy and genuine intuition, and to follow course with what we know.

This is an influence that helps bring to conscious awareness that we have choices to make that determine whether we will remain static, worsen, or improve. If for example a woman feels stuck in an abusive relationship, it is likely that while Neptune is Retrograde she will experience at least one major breakthrough that shows her a way out. This does not mean she will act on it, but the chances are higher because now she sees that nobody is doing this to her but herself – the only person who can save her is herself, because she finally realizes there is so much more to life than this…that what she has is not as good as it gets. This epiphany is her first stage of progress. But the spell is not broken until she acts.

Let’s keep in mind that Mercury is Retrograde until July first, and will move back into chatty Gemini on the 17th of June. If we review our plans and relationships carefully this month we will be ready to move full steam ahead into a Summer filled with “newness”.